Iranian Students Say Colleague Killed At Antigovernment Rally

A student at Shiraz University in southern Iran was reportedly killed by security forces at a rally commemorating the deaths of two other students killed at recent protests, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.

Hamed Nour-Mohammadi in an undated photo

Student activist Pouyan Mahmoudian told Radio Farda on February 21 that Hamed Nour-Mohammadi, a biology student, was killed by security forces while trying to escape from police at the rally in Shiraz on February 20.

Student-led rallies to mark the one-week anniversary of the two student deaths were held in Tehran and several other cities, including Shiraz, Esfahan, Rasht, Sanandaj, Mahabad, and Marivan, on February 20. The students were allegedly shot by security forces in Tehran during antigovernment protests on February 14.

Mahmoudian said that following Nour-Mohammadi's death, student activists were barred from entering the campus of Shiraz University and the dormitories. He added that families of students who know about the incident have been told to remain silent.

Iranian state media quoted Shiraz University Chancellor Mohammad Moazeni as saying that Nour-Mohammadi was killed in a car accident.

Meanwhile, student activist Salman Sima told Radio Farda on February 21 that several students were arrested at the February 20 rallies.

He said students Sohrab Jafari, Habib Farahzadi, and Iman Sadighi were taken into custody by security forces.

Jafari and Farahzadi study at Tehran University and Sadighi studies at the Babol Noshirvani University of Technology in northern Iran. Both Farahzadi and Sadighi have been barred from continuing their studies because of their political activism.

Sima also said the whereabouts of two female students from Tehran's Azad University arrested during the February 20 protests are unknown. He said Saeedeh Asgari, a French major, and Farnaz Kamali, who is studying political science, have been taken to an unknown location.